Weeks 6 and 7: Hipster

The term hipster can be described very specifically, a quick google search might give you a definition like this one: 

“The hipster subculture typically consists of white millennials living in urban areas.The subculture has been described as a "mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior" and is broadly associated with indie and alternative music, a varied non-mainstream fashion sensibility (including vintage and thrift store-bought clothes), generally progressive political views, organic and artisanal foods, and alternative lifestyles. Hipsters are typically described as affluent or middle class young Bohemians who reside in gentrifying neighborhoods.”

For as much as people want to argue that “hipster” is a solely millennial counter culture if you look a little harder you can actually find that groups of people with the same alternative views within their modern society can actually be dated back to a lot of groups of creative people in the 1940’s. The term “hipster” (regardless of it’s similarities to its predecessors in definition) is used quite liberally in our vocabulary and that’s what makes it unique. I find that very interesting because in a world of easy access to most knowledge with the click of a button or a swipe of a screen and an exposure to almost everything in pop culture it’s becoming harder to pinpoint a counter culture, to be able to define it because almost everyone is part of that “counter culture” by default, everyones in the loop. It’s funny that hipster is often used as an insult because…it really doesn’t make sense, how can you make fun of someone for liking something else? Your labeling someone as the opposite of you because you don't share the same interests but in turn it makes you their own negative hipster. Quite funny.